Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the American people Wednesday, giving his view on the current conflict in Syria, and while it was well received, it does present a glaring issue.

His address, which came in the form of an opinion piece in The New York Times, centered on why a United States strike against Syria would extend the conflict past Syria’s borders, and how the U.S. and Russia should be strengthening their relations.

The response to Putin’s address was overwhelmingly positive. Thousands of comments posted on the Times’ website “applauded” Putin’s open letter and gave a big two thumbs up to his “guts” in “contributing to the discussion.”

In fact, it was a well-written letter, and I encourage anybody to give it a full read at the Times’ website.

However, it was Putin’s last line in his letter that really caught my attention.

“We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.”

Funny, given the circumstances of this past summer.

For those of you keeping score at home, throughout the summer months, Putin signed a law prohibiting homosexuality in Russia. Gay pride parades banned. Anyone associated with homosexuality fined. And the homosexual community in Russia attacked.

Even those visiting the country or are foreign can be included in this law and fined or imprisoned for association with anything homosexual.

From the moment Putin’s name was scribbled in ink, Russia became the backdrop to a modern-day gay witch hunt, and one seemingly swept under the rug in favor of focusing on the newest conflict: Syria.

“God created us equal,” Putin writes, giving its placement last in his editorial, so the words echo in the reader’s mind long after they have exited the browser or put down the paper.

When Putin writes “God created us equal,” he must not have been talking about the homosexual community residing in Russia, who, for the past few months, has been hiding, trying desperately not to be seen by a government who, ironically, preaches about equality.

Putin performed one of the world’s greatest magic tricks: he made a problem disappear by simple misdirection.

And he had us all fooled.

While Putin’s address to the American people was a breath of fresh air in this tense situation, it should not be viewed as an absolution for what has happened over the summer.

This new Russian gay witch-hunt is still an overbearing issue in Russia, and one that should not be ignored.

The attacks, specifically the ones using chemical weapons, in Syria are atrocious, there is no doubt about that. But to sit there and write how you want equality for all, when real people are being savagely beaten in your backyard that is just as atrocious.

So, President Putin, next time you write “God created us equal,” rethink that sentence when you look outside and watch your people being snatched up and punished for relatively no reason at all.

And to those who appreciate Putin’s open letter to America, there is nothing wrong with that. For the most part, what he said does have merit. But take it with a grain of salt and know what has happened before the magician made it disappear.

In fact, if I were to rewrite Putin’s final sentence to reflect the current situation, it would read, “God created most of us equal.”

Bob Galuski is a senior English and journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].